Colorado Buffaloes
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #41
Conference Rank: #6 Pac-12
Colorado has not always been the most exciting team, but they have been amazingly consistent under Coach Tad Boyle. The Buffaloes have reached the postseason eight times in the last nine opportunities. That has included four NCAA Tournament trips and seven 20 win seasons during that ten year stretch. This may not be a group that will compete for a Pac-12 title, but they will again be right in the mix for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
2019-20 Record: 21-11, 10-8
Coach: Tad Boyle
Coach Record: 210-134 at Colorado, 266-200 overall
Key Departed Players:
Tyler Bey, Guard/Forward, 13.8 ppg
Lucas Siewert, Forward, 7.7 ppg
Shane Gatling, Guard, 6.5 ppg
Daylen Kountz, Guard, 3.0 ppg
Key Returning Players:
McKinley Wright IV, Senior, Guard, 14.4 ppg
D’Shawn Schwartz, Senior, Guard/Forward, 9.8 ppg
Evan Battey, Junior, Forward, 8.9 ppg
Maddox Daniels, Senior, Guard/Forward, 3.2 ppg
Eli Parquet, Junior, Guard, 2.6 ppg
Dallas Walton, Senior, Forward/Center, 1.6 ppg
Key New Players:
Keeshawn Barthelemy, Freshman, Guard
Nique Clifford, Freshman, Guard
Tristan da Silva, Freshman, Forward
Jeriah Horne, Senior, Forward, Grad Transfer from Tulsa
Isaac Jessup, Freshman, Guard
Owen Koonce, Freshman, Guard
Luke O’Brien, Freshman, Guard
Jabari Walker, Freshman, Forward
Projection:
McKinley Wright IV will once again be the leader of the team. Last season the senior point guard led the Buffaloes with 14.4 points and 5.0 assists and added 5.7 rebounds. When Wright is not scoring himself, he will be setting up D’Shawn Schwartz and Evan Battey. Schwartz, a 6-7 wing, tallied 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds and knocked down a team high 51 three-pointers. Battey will have to step up in the frontcourt now that Tyler Bey’s dominating rebounding and Lucas Siewert’s presence in the paint is gone. Battey, a 6-8 junior, has been a consistent scorer and rebounder in the paint and now he will have the opportunity to bump up his number significantly. The frontcourt will also welcome in graduate transfer from Tulsa, Jeriah Horne. Last season with the Golden Hurricane he averaged 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. The rest of the seven newcomers are all freshmen, highlighted by Nique Clifford. The 6-5 guard should immediately become a big-time scoring threat for Colorado. As long as the rest of the newcomers and the more experienced returning reserves can provide a little depth, this is a team that has the talent to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 70.9 (185th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.3 (41, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.7 (176, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.4 (85, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.5 (148, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.1 (85, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.6 (89, 4)
Rebound Margin: 5.2 (38, 2)
Assists Per Game: 13.2 (171, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.2 (186, 6)
Madness 2020 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#124 Dominique Clifford
